


Picking Up and Moving On

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Changing Fate [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Gen, Rebuilding, ding dong the wicked sith is dead, obi-wan is not surprised, qui-gon is himself, so is anakin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 01:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6882871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sith have lost. Anakin can see why they were so powerful. Qui-Gon makes a choice, and Depa loses a bet. Or, the Galaxy starts to breathe again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picking Up and Moving On

Ahsoka knew she should have obeyed the stricture to stay in the Archives, but her entire mind had felt the pressure of being trapped as too much to bear, and she'd slipped out with the older Initiates to take up defense of the Archives. She thought Caleb was going to rat her out, but he just turned his solemn eyes on her and nodded.

That Master Jinn had been in her head, and known she was disobeying had briefly worried her, but she just couldn't be in there when her entire clan and village/range were in danger. She was eleven years old -- which was young for her species Master Plo kept reminding her -- and that was the age some of the human Initiates out here were!

The storm was pressing in on her nerves, almost making her wish she had stayed locked in so she could curl up with her clan-mates. They never did hear any of the fighting this deep, but when Master Yoda's death broke over them all, she cried out… much as the other Initiates, and one of the youngest Padawans did.

None of the Knights down here chided them for it. The one closest to her, a Twi'lek, looked as sad as Ahsoka was, with her lekku fading and laying so limp on her shoulders. Not long after, though, Master Luminara commed the Knights, telling them to bring up the Initiate and Padawan defensive line; there was cleanup to do.

Ahsoka didn't much care for all the blood, oil, and ichor she saw, but she was going to be brave and strong… until she saw the body of a Knight that had taught her only a week before. Her next trip inside to get more supplies had her fleeing, afraid all over again.

What if her SkyGuy had been killed, what if his body was somewhere out there waiting to be brought in?

With that thought in mind, she gave herself to the Force, letting it guide her steps, needing to know if all the Visions had been wrong and she hadn't grown up fast enough to help keep him safe?

She found herself in the outer part of the healer's wing, evading everyone, squaring her shoulders as if she had been summoned… and she turned into a small cubicle to see Master Jinn asleep on a cot, Knight Kenobi sharing it, and SkyGuy!

Anakin had been meditating, but then there was a familiar, wild and upset presence, so he cracked his eye to see his little Togruta sweetheart there. Master Jinn had mentioned her disobedience before passing out. However, Anakin could not bring himself to scold her too strongly, seeing the worry etched into her face, paralyzing those emotive lekku. He just opened his arms, and she shot into them, settling into his lap, arms latched around his neck.

"You should have stayed with Clawmouse, little 'Soka," he murmured, but his arms tightened on her. She was part of his future; he knew that as clearly as he knew his name now, and it shook him. Was she part of the changes that needed to happen? Could she walk the Balance with him, the one that needed to be found? 

"Wanted to protect them too," she argued weakly.

"You keep pushing yourself too hard, Ahsoka," he said, feeling odd to be the one to say that. He was still shy of his seventeenth name-day by… a few months? But that meant she wasn't even at her twelfth, and Master Shaak Ti had told him that Togruta tended to stay youngling a little longer than humans before suddenly maturing almost to adult in fewer years than human adolescence.

"What if you get ready to be a Padawan before I am ready to be a Knight?" he finished the light scold he was willing to give her. She flattened against him, her body language telling him he'd made his point. 

"I'm sorry, SkyGuy." 

He reached up and petted between the montrals very gently. "It's okay. And now you know I'm safe, so why don't you go down to the Clawmouses now?" He didn't really want her up here when he'd heard the healers preparing to help at least one injured Jedi finish dying without pain. There was too much carnage in here.

"Sure thing." She brushed her cheek against his, squeezed his neck one more time, and then ran off to do as he'd told her. Now, she could handle being protected; it would make Anakin feel better, and that was important to her.

++++

News of the attack on the Temple came only an hour after the staggering news that the Chancellor had died in an attempt to arrest him. The Senate had already heard all evidence and supported the arrest as lawful, stripping Palpatine, retroactively, of powers and calling into doubt the legitimacy of all laws pushed into place during his service.

There would be a lengthy debate under whomever succeeded him, but Padmé scarcely cared, other than to inform Jar Jar that, unless a truly stunningly good person emerged, that Naboo preferred to support Chandrilla's or Alderaan's Senator for the position of Chancellor.

What she truly wanted was word from the Temple, and she sent Dormé to invite Shmi Skywalker to the Palace, wanting to keep her apprised of the happenings. That Wiz had intercepted the report meant that her troops were soon arrayed more threateningly around her throne room, and Points himself went with Dormé to get their Jedi's mother.

He was angry, so angry, that their Jedi had seen battle without proper support. The only thing he could do now was guard the women his Jedi had entrusted him with.

When Anakin himself contacted them, through official channels even, Padmé did not even try to hide her joyful tears at hearing his voice, not from her handmaidens or the mother of the young man she loved, that she would wait for.

"We did lose Jedi; the names will be released in a formal declaration," Anakin told them, once he got over his joy at finding them together. "As the Jedi's representative, my Lady," he said, explaining his use of official channels, "it is with regret we inform you of Sheev Palpatine's corruption, and we assure you that Naboo is not to be held accountable at all for the actions of one individual's pursuit of power."

It was official jargon, had to be said, as it meant the Senate and Order both had decided Palpatine's manipulations were not a part of a systemic abuse of power. So Padmé bit down on the immediate, profane response, and inclined her head.

"We thank the Order for their just handling of the situation, Padawan Skywalker," she said firmly.

He bowed to her, then smiled at his mother. "Love you, mom," he snuck in over the channel, then let his eyes find Padmé's, unable to say them aloud to her. That was still years in their future, those words that they both felt. She could only blink her eyes slowly to acknowledge that, before the comm channel was cut. 

Under the guise of supporting Shmi, who took a ragged breath, Padmé turned and hugged the woman who was, or would be, family, close.

"He's alive, and he is fine!" she said, getting hugged back strongly by Shmi.

++++

Newly elected Chancellor Bail Organa, along with his most trusted Senatorial friends and aides, were the ones that finally approached the Jedi Temple a few days after the events that had turned their lives upside down. The only reason the Senate had managed to push a new Chancellor's appointment so fast was because so many systems were terrified of the Separatists learning there was no true leadership in the Republic.

Master Adi Gallia was the one to meet the deputation, having made it back the day after the attack. Master Luminara Unduli had been handling Council business before that, guided by Master Tiin, as the healers were releasing no one from their care without being fully healed. 

"Chancellor; Senators," she said smoothly, meeting them in the broad, open commons.

"We have come to offer the Jedi a chance to weigh in on the matter of the clones," Bail said, after pleasantries.

Adi had expected this, as the matter of them had been hotly debated in the healer's wing until Master Vokara Che threatened to put everyone in bacta tanks just to cool their heads.

"We have chosen to accept them in as an addition to the Jedi Corps," Adi told him. "It is in the best interests of the Republic, for the government to not take them on, as they represent military power that could be dangerous. We owe them for their very creation. And will not abuse them as property, for the Jedi do not hold with slavery. So we will see to them.

"In fact, Chancellor, if you wish to take it back to the Senate that, once the invaded planets are free and matters with the Separatists subside, the Corps will be tackling slavery as the next big issue… it might give certain systems and Senators incentive to dissuade such things, before we arrive?" Adi said with a perfectly serene smile.

The new Chancellor stared at her, stunned, as a few of his staff made noises rather than stare, and he searched her face intently. Was she actually -- 

\-- yes. She was entirely serious, and he couldn't quite help his smile at her. He had hoped for most of his life that they would find _some_ way to deal with the slavery endemic in the Mid and Outer Rim... and now the Jedi meant to take the task on? "I suspect that that will set the anooba among the pigeons, Master Gallia... but I will be quite pleased to take that word back." 

Anooba among pigeons was the mildest thing he could think of to say about what an epic debacle this was going to become, not least of which because there would be more than a few that protested the Jedi stepping into affairs outside the Republic... but he loved it. 

"We have a vested interest in helping those worlds find ways to be self-sufficient, without relying on the costly, demeaning enterprise of slavery," Adi told him. "This Separatist issue has brought to light how poorly we have done in protecting the Republic's outer edges, and we cannot truly improve that if we do not offer the predatory systems beyond them alternatives.

"We, the Order, have confined ourselves to the Republic for too long, when the Force demands we serve all," she finished. "Is there any other way we may assist you today, Chancellor? I have been authorized to handle all Senatorial requests within my judgment, as our Order restructures in the aftermath of the attack."

Bail shook his head, looking at her with eyes that managed not to be wide only because of a lifetime in politics. "No, Master Jedi. I had intended to offer you our aid, if there is any we can give, in the face of the losses you suffered... _is_ there anything the Senate can do?" 

"Give us time, and patience, as we try to find a balance between our duties to the Republic, to the men from Kamino, and to the Galaxy at large," Adi suggested. "When all of the Masters are released from the Healers, we shall better be able to bring to you our concerns or challenges, Chancellor." She then nodded serenely to them, hoping this was at an end. Luminara was going to owe her for having taken on the speaking role, she idly thought, even as she knew why. Luminara didn't always catch the full context of hidden currents among politicians, but Adi saw them as no more than secondary aspects in strategy.

Bail nodded, accepting her words and wishing there were more he could offer all at once. "I will do my best to give you both, then. May the Force be with you all." 

"And with you."

++++

"Master Plo Koon will move into the Grand Master's rank," Mace said, his skin paler than usual as he was only vaguely on the mend. Hence, this meeting of the Jedi Council was being held in the Healer's Wing with a shield curtain around the bay that they had assembled in.

"And Master Mace Windu will resume his place as Master of the Order," Plo Koon responded to that, easing himself against the pillows supporting his back, ignoring the prosthetic leg that was still freshly attached just above the knee. "So now we must take stock.

"We are left with a need to appoint two new members to the Council, in light of Master Yoda and Master Eeth Koth joining the Force." Plo Koon looked around their ranks, pleased everyone was back on Coruscant to handle this business. "Several Knights have also proven exemplary and ready to move forward to take Master status, something we will need to go over today. Likewise, a few senior Padawans are also ready for their Trials, or in some cases, to merely be elevated due to the way they have handled difficult situations in the galaxy."

"We have not lost that many in our ranks, so is it needed to perform so many elevations?" Oppo Rancicis questioned.

"Yes, old friend, it is," Ki-Adi-Mundi said firmly, his impressive cranium swathed in bacta bandages from his injuries sustained at the Ryloth insurgency against the invaders. "We have had several Republic worlds invaded and held by the Separatists. It is necessary that we show our faith in our younger members, to allow them to take up the cause of negotiating peace, or bringing justice to these worlds via military action."

"In addition to this," Depa began, "we have assured the Senate we will be tackling slavery and the like outside our borders. As Padawan Skywalker has shown us, there are likely to be Force-sensitive children out there, ones that will need guidance, and possibly understanding that is not within our rigorous ways. No Force-sensitive child should be left without the rudiments of controlling the basic abilities, and buttressing our ranks gives us more eligible candidates to reach out to them."

"You're not just going to bring all of those in?! Have you all forgotten how wild and chaotic Padawan Skywalker is?" Yarael Poof demanded.

"It is not likely that we will bring them into the Order unless a strong volition is seen alongside the ability," Adi Gallia stated. "But better we show them shielding and control… than any apprentices and acolytes that Darth Sidious left for us to find? Or perhaps you wish them to be taken to Dathomir?"

Her words were pointed, challenging, leading both Rancisis and Poof to look to Master Saesee Tiin for support.

The other iconoclastic Master slowly shook his head. "As you all know, I worked with Master Jinn during the defense. His mind, his very understanding of the Force runs contrary to all I know of the Force, to be honest.

"Yet I must agree with this decision, if it provides us with that slight edge of unpredictability, so that the Sith or other Dark Forces cannot blind us in the future. I may never approve of the methods Jinn and Skywalker bring to their negotiations and battles, but I can admit they serve their place in the greater good."

There was a long silence, as every member weighed those words, and then Mace spoke up. "If there are no more objections, let's get the debate of who to bring to our number out of the way."

++++

Depa Billaba and Adi Gallia came to the quarters of the trio. They were the delegated pair to bring news, as Mace did not wish to delay this to when he was healed enough to actually walk, despite being a long-time friend of Master Jinn.

It was Padawan Skywalker who allowed them entrance, bowing his head to both women, his face more somber than either recalled ever actually seeing it in the past. His presence in the Force, likewise, seemed different.

Neither one was asking how Knight Kenobi had gotten out of the healer's grasp already. Granted, his injury had been fairly light when Adi had stopped by to receive instructions from Qui-Gon after Luminara had asked her to take over dealing with the outside world.

"Master Jinn, may we speak with you?" Depa asked, remaining decidedly neutral in her words and presence. She was, privately, still amused at the absolute furor that had broken out when Mace had proposed Master Jinn for a Council Seat.

"I do not believe, Obi-Wan, that you should move from that couch," Adi told the young man that she had worked with in the past. The Knight gave her a wry grin for that, relaxing back down into the pillows.

"Thank you, Master. Is Siri well?" he slipped in, receiving a nod from her before she was focused on Qui-Gon.

"Of course, Masters," Qui-Gon agreed, rising to his feet to join them. "What brings you to find me today?" 

"A request, by the majority of the Jedi Council, Master Jinn." Depa inclined her head to him, then gave the faintest of smiles. "Master Windu regrets sending me in his place, but we bear an invitation to be on the Council."

"Your skills and unique perspective are thought to be a good fit for the new directions we will be pushing the Order in," Adi told him.

Obi-Wan, in earshot of this, was certain he was hallucinating at the very least. They were asking his Master, long whispered to be a Gray Jedi behind his back, and sometimes to his face, to join the Council? 

Qui-Gon blinked once, twice, replayed the words in the back of his mind to be certain that he had heard them correctly, and he slowly shook his head. "Masters... I am honored, but I do not believe that would be a wise course for any of us. After all," he found himself smiling, wry and teasing, "I can't give you nearly as much trouble from _inside_ the Council, and I still believe that body needs it." 

Adi was the one who smiled, as Depa looked slightly perturbed. "How many credits do you owe Shaak Ti?" Adi asked her friend slyly. She then focused on Qui-Gon, bowing her head to him in deep respect. "Our gratitude, Master Jinn, for all you do… including questioning. We see now that it is very needed."

Depa gave a small shake of her head, but inclined it after, breathing out slowly. "Thank you, Master Jinn. I suppose I shall have to look forward to arguing with you a bit more in the future as a challenger to the ways things have been done."

Obi-Wan realized he was not surprised at his Master's declining of the appointment. His sense of duty was different, and he was right. Honors were not something Qui-Gon sought, and he could do his best outside the body.

Anakin had listened, and part of him disagreed with his Master's choice. But, with the logic behind it, maybe that would work better. Anakin felt like he had a long way to go, to understand what he had seen in his Force Vision of that battle, with what it implied about balance between the Light and the Dark. Having Qui-Gon on the Council, now, would take time away from being with him, to help him properly understand it and find the right way for everyone.

In all his time as a Padawan, he'd never really believed in the Chosen One, in the prophecy, yet… now, he had little choice but to find a way to understand it better. There was a reason that fight had been strong enough to knock him out.

He listened as Qui-Gon wrapped up pleasantries with the Masters, then saw them out, while Obi-Wan touched their bond… and decided that the decision really was the best for them all.

++++

Anakin had meant to only talk it over with his Master, all that he had seen and thought since the Vision that knocked him out. Unfortunately, other than quick mentions, neither of them had really had time, and he found himself reporting with Qui-Gon to the full Council instead, once the two senior most Masters were released to full duty.

"Padawan Skywalker, I am given to understand that you faced some form of a trial at the beginning of the fight for the Temple," Mace Windu began.

"Yes sir," Anakin said, gathering his calm and keeping it close. He had to make the case clearly, had to speak well, so they could learn what he now knew. "I saw the fight in the Chancellor's office, Masters. Not… visually, but more allegorically, which is very unusual for me. All of my other Visions have been clear-cut.

"None of which I have Seen since that night."

"If you would describe it to us, Padawan?" Plo Koon invited.

"The storm was there, in the background, but I could see five Lights closing in on a Darkness. The Darkness was so black as to be … swallowing the area around it? And the five Lights were not its match." He grimaced an apology at the four survivors of that fight.

"Nor were we," Mace admitted. "Until Master Yoda… unleashed something, a conduit in the Force."

"Yes, Master. That's exactly what he did, from what I could see," Anakin said. "He pulled at all the Light Side Force to be found, and brought it into himself to undo the Chancellor. That's why there was no body, I think," he added. "But the aftermath of my Vision, the things I glimpsed and heard whispered in the Force is why I think I was shown that part of it."

"Oh?" Shaak Ti asked quietly.

Anakin squared his shoulders. "I never really believed in the prophecy my Master felt applied to me, but I think that prophecy is both correct and also misinterpreted to a much larger idea than what I am meant to do," he told them, hoping he didn't sound arrogant in his words. "One reason why Darth Sidious was so powerful was simply because the Dark had to have a conduit.

"Even with those who have Fallen in recent generations, the Sith limitation of only two served to make them far more powerful, Masters, because there were fewer conduits for the Dark Side."

"What are you saying, Padawan? That in order to weaken the Sith, we have to have more Jedi Fall?" Yarael Poof demanded.

"No, Master." Anakin tried to find the right words, and his eyes fell on Depa, sitting beside Adi. It offered him a view that might make sense to the Council. "We... the Order has long since suppressed much of what can lead to a Fall. We discourage strong emotions, making ourselves turn them fully away. We strive to live so purely in the Light, as servants of the Order, that we turn aside the Dark too completely.

"It is not the nature of any species in the galaxy to be wholly good or wholly evil. Yet we set ourselves above that. Some few Masters have discovered how to skirt close to the Dark Side to make those emotions work for them." Anakin's eyes flicked from Depa to Mace, who sat up straighter and looked keenly intent on the subject.

"The Order itself is unbalanced in its members," Plo Koon said, grasping the concept quickly. "We take all the Light and spread it between us, while the Dark is concentrated in many fewer beings."

"Yes, Master. This is the core of what I believe I saw." Anakin looked relieved at the fact Plo had worded it for him.

There were murmurs around him, before Kit cleared his throat. "Padawan, would you be willing to share meditations with us, over the next several days, so we can each try and see what you did, just to apply other ways of thinking to it?"

Anakin almost quailed, but he was only a Padawan, and here he was upsetting their entire way of thinking. "Yes, Master Fisto, I will. I am young, and I am not experienced. I can only apply my own way of thinking to judge what I believe I saw and felt."

"Well-spoken, Padawan," Adi Gallia praised him. "I look forward to seeing what can be learned, and taking it into account as we continue to evolve to meet the needs of all." Her quiet words challenged the older, more conservative Jedi to deny the need for that.

Luckily, no one else spoke against Anakin's Vision, or Kit's suggestion.

++++

The new Chancellor, Bail Organa, and his Vice Chancellor, Yarua of Kashyyyk, had been tasked hard by the need to dismantle the machine Palpatine had used in the Senate to keep voting more power to his office. That the Jedi had taken the clone issue off their hands was a relief, but when it came time to actually find armaments and ships, things got a little tense.

The ships, it turned out, existed. As well as more arms and armor, already paid through various accounts in the labyrinthine machinations of the disgraced Palpatine. An ethical debate was still raging over using such when Padmé Naberrie Amidala arrived to take up the Senator's chair for Chommell Sector. Jar-Jar remained as Representative, working with her to bring her up to date on all the new bills, legislation, and investigations.

It was almost a ten-day after her arrival on planet before she could clear her schedule enough to pay her respects at the Temple, feeling suddenly shy despite knowing she would be welcome there.

As chance would have it, Anakin and Qui-Gon had only just returned from a negotiation on a world that had been taken by Separatists and then sued for repatriation to the Republic in exchange for protection from further invasions. Obi-Wan was still out on a mission of his own, having been cleared more recently for field work than the other two.

Padmé had come with Points as her sole guard, and stood just inside the interior of the Temple, taking in the atmosphere of this ancient place of learning. Points kept looking around like the place would swallow him whole, but he did that at the Palace sometimes too. Such large, open spaces inside buildings were unnatural to him.

A young Jedi Padawan, by the braid hanging off one side, came to greet them.

"May I assist you, Lady?"

"Would it be possible to see Master Jinn and his student?" Padmé asked, almost wishing she had asked them to come to her. But no, that was the whole reason for coming, was to see them in their home, as they had seen her in hers.

"I will go find them," the Padawan promised, running off to go find the pair. An inquiry at a kiosk indicated the gardens were mostly likely where the pair were, and he jogged dutifully that way, leaving the pair of visitors to sit on one of the carved benches.

++++

"Master Jinn?" 

The voice intruding on his not-quite meditation sitting next to Anakin in one of the most peaceful Temple locations belonged to a recently selected Padawan. Anakin did not open his own eyes or stir; he had not been addressed, even though he could not find meditative silence today. Something was hovering just outside his awareness, distracting him.

Qui-Gon turned his head to look at the Padawan, lifting one eyebrow slightly. He knew the touch of this boy's mind now, he had been with the Initiates, but could not immediately recall his name. "Yes? What can I do for you, Padawan?" 

"You, and your Padawan, sir, have two visitors in the main hall," the boy said, giving a respectful bob of his head at being replied to. "The woman requested you both, but the man did not speak. He is armed, likely a bodyguard, for she is dressed well."

At that, Anakin's eyes flew open. A lady, with a guard, seeking them? Had he lost track of the galactic date that badly? He wanted to jump up and go run… but that was unseemly for a Senior Padawan, and he was trying to work on his impulse control.

"Master?" he asked instead, more as an indicator he was fairly certain he knew who it was. Though why she only had one guard…

Qui-Gon felt the surge of adrenaline and intent hope, knew who it had to be, and looked sideways to Anakin with a quick smile. "Go on ahead, Ani," he said gently, before rising as he returned his attention to the young Padawan. "Thank you for bringing the message." 

The boy bowed, glad the visit was not unwelcome.

Anakin flashed his Master a quick smile, and gripped the Padawan's shoulder gently in passing, before he made his way down to the main level, trying very hard not to get caught running by anyone that would call him on it. He did collect himself fully before getting to the hall, straightening his tunics and robe, running a hand over his hair. He took a deep breath and turned into the hall, eyes going unerringly to where she was, with Points at her side. 

He had to smile brighter, as Points had taken his name seriously enough to have what looked to be a spear-point tattooed from cheek to brow over his right eye.

"My Lady," he said, striding over properly, his smile encompassing them both. "Points, I like the look." He could compliment Points and not have it out of the ordinary; this was an ongoing thing as more clones came to work with the Jedi on negotiations and infiltrations.

"Commander Skywalker," Points said in reply, grinning, but he quieted then, knowing it was his Lady who was here to see the Jedi.

"Anakin," she answered, smiling back at him -- had he gotten even _taller_ since she'd seen him last?! -- as she reached to take one of his hands. "It's good to see you. This is almost a first, isn't it? Me visiting your home?" 

He took her hand, nodding at that. "Except that very, very first time, yes," he agreed, squeezing lightly. "Master Qui-Gon should be coming; he let me come straight away so you would not be waiting too long. Obi-Wan is off planet currently. We only returned recently." He sat down beside her on the bench, keeping a polite distance between them. 

"Returned?" Points had to ask, worrying all over again, and Anakin smiled. Bant had relayed that the clones, on hearing about the Temple attack, had experienced deep anxieties over the Jedi fighting alone.

"Don't worry, Points. Obi-Wan's got a squad, and so do we, and every other Jedi that is helping restore the worlds lost to the Separatists." Anakin wasn't entirely certain, all the time, how he felt about those units of eight -- 'batchers', they called themselves -- who weren't any older physically than he was, having left Kamino before they were fully grown and all of their training was finished... but they couldn't really argue with that the troopers wanted to work, wanted to do something more than train, either. 

Padmé had settled easily onto the bench, and she cast an equally worried look at Anakin for the 'off planet currently', wishing she could be at least a little closer, but he was right. They were in full view of anyone that might walk past, and she wouldn't bring him trouble for the galaxy itself. "That's what you've been doing since we talked last? Working on bringing the taken worlds back into the Republic?" 

He nodded, smiling. "Mostly, it's a matter of opening communications with either a resistance cell, or in a couple of cases, the Separatists themselves on each planet." That expression went feral, almost savage. "Sidious's death cracked their alliance wide open, with all the information we broadcast directly to the Separatist home-worlds, about the manipulations.

"The Senate was going to handle negotiations, but they're so bogged down, we took it on, because Knight Bant Eerin told us the troopers were restless. The oldest of them -- your group, Points, the ones born then -- were divided out into their eights and Knight Eerin matches them to Jedi carefully, trying to keep personalities from clashing."

"Who is your eight led by?" Points asked. He regretted not being there for Skywalker, but he did love the life he and his had made on Naboo, integrating into security. 

"His number was CT-7567, but he's chosen the name Rex," Anakin answered. "And no one knows why!" He seemed amused by that.

"He's a good brother," Points said, nodding once, pleased to hear that, as he stuck the name firmly into his head. He knew Rex well enough to be satisfied that the Commander had a good squad at his back, if he was leading them. "Huh. Well, if he doesn't want to say, an _aiwha_ couldn't pull it out of him." 

"Closed-mouthed?" Padmé asked, curious. For young men that were so completely similar in features, there was certainly a wide range of personalities in them! 

Points nodded. "Always ahead in training, but the kind to watch, decide, act without really debating it." He shrugged a little. "Not like me." His greatest failing, he still felt, was that he debated things to death in his head, or with Fourteen before moving on.

"Sometimes debate is good," Anakin reminded Points. "Rex and Master Qui-Gon get along fine, though. Cody -- CC-2224, he was -- is handling Obi-Wan's missions. They seemed to fall right into a rapport, so we don't have to worry so much for them."

"I'm glad to hear both of those, too," Padmé told Anakin, before she looked at Points, "and Anakin's right about that. You're certainly quick to act when you need to. But I appreciate that you think things over."

Qui-Gon had followed his Padawan at a _much_ more decorous pace, but it still didn't take terribly long to reach the commons. Anakin was nearly radiant with his pleasure, and Padmé was almost as gleaming... but they were behaving perfectly decorously. 

"Hello, milady," he said as he approached them, and promptly received one of her dazzling smiles in response. 

"Master Jinn," she said, a moment later. "It's good to see you." 

"Master Jinn," Points said, fighting to not come to attention for a General, as their training ranked the Jedi. He knew from their mission, Jinn did not stand on that formality.

"I was telling them about Obi-Wan and Rex and Cody," Anakin said, still smiling easily. He then turned to Padmé directly. "Have you eaten today?" He would much prefer to not be in the Temple, and knew his Master would let them all go to Dex's if she said no.

"Good day, Points," Qui-Gon greeted the soldier, looking at the tattoo for a moment before he smiled. "You look well." 

"Breakfast, hours ago?" Padmé answered, cocking her head slightly, wondering what was on her Anakin's mind. "Why?" 

"Thank you, sir," Points said, looking pleased to be complimented.

"Well, Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan introduced me to this diner that is actually really good, run by a friend of theirs," Anakin said in that voice of 'join me on an adventure'. "And we haven't eaten since breakfast either. Sometimes he forgets I'm still a growing boy, and Points is too…"

Qui-Gon looked at his Padawan for a moment, amused almost despite himself, and then one corner of his mouth quirked. "And two Jedi, plus Points, should surely be enough protection for our Senatorial guest," he said, amused. "If you would be interested, milady?" 

She was startled for a moment, then smiled again, flicking a glance at Anakin -- who looked absolutely overjoyed, despite his attempt at Jedi calm -- as she nodded. "I've never been anywhere on Coruscant except, well, 500 Republica, the Senate, and now here. I'd love to." 

Anakin grinned, standing back up to lead the way. Points was bemused, but surely with two Jedi…

...especially these two Jedi… his charge would be safe, and he'd get good food and a better grasp on them.

+++++

Master Plo Koon walked through the Temple, listening to lessons, to younglings at play on teaching games, to Masters debating the new changes to the Code. To have come so far in eight, almost eight and a half galactic years was a good thing, he thought. They would safeguard their wards, the clone troopers, and move ahead. The Senate would resolve their issues. The Separatist worlds were slowly coming around to the Republic fold, with reparations being negotiated.

He saw Padawan Skywalker working with little 'Soka and the other initiates in one room, guiding them through the use of Force manipulation on mechanical repairs. That made him smile; he had paid attention through the years to the strange bond there. He decided he must remember to talk to Qui-Gon as to where Anakin was in his training. 

He had no doubt that once made a Knight, Anakin Skywalker would no more separate from Qui-Gon's mentorship than Obi-Wan Kenobi had, not right away. It would be safe to let the boy take on Ahsoka so quickly.

Yes, the Force felt at peace, and the galaxy had breathing room. All Plo Koon needed to do was continue to listen to it, to those who stood for evolution of the Jedi, and they might just hold back the Dark for centuries more. They were in a good place, and could only continue to improve.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, one and all, for your amazing support of this universe. We have enjoyed the ride. While other stories set here may pop up, they will strictly be Related Works, not part of the main series.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Clone and the Maiden](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7546511) by [Merfilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly)




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